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Rats and mice together

L

LeeC

New member
So I have 1.1 mice I use for breeders, and recently got a female hairless rat juvinille from a friend for free with a cage. I was just wondering since her cage is so nice and big, maybe I should put the the mice in with her? (they're currently in a tub)

I've introduced the rat to our female mouse a couple times with no problems yet, she smells the mouse in my hand then promtly grabs her by her neck and takes her into the cage... it looks like a cat carrying a kitten. The mouse hasnt squeaked or anything but I always grab the mouse fast thinking she might get hurt. It looks like the rat is being ruff with her.

I dont think shes tring to hurt her, rather being motherly.
Should I put her in the rats cage and see what happens, or ???? I want them to live together.
 
my opinion..... no no no noooooo not a good idea at all... in the end the rat will kill the mice.... sorry to be kinda blunt :( but It really is a very bad idea to house 2 different rodent types like mice and rats together....
 
Definitely not a good idea, I can almost promise you the rat will kill the mice eventually. Rather get a friend of the same gender for your rat, they shouldn't be alone. (unless you want to breed of course)
 
The only way to have them together is to raise them together. I've done this a time or to, and it does work, but to stick two adults together is asking for trouble. They are just too different. I would get your hairless another rat companion. You should get a rat with hair though. Hairless have a hard time staying warm, and if you get a haired rat that she can snuggle with, she will stay warm better.
 
Rats will kill and eat mice when housed together. But, your hairless girl could make a wonderful pet. As odd as it might seem, cornsnakes and rats are my 2 favorite pet animals (even over dogs and cats, yes, I'm a wierdo!). Rats are social and really need the companionship of other rats to be happy, but they also need to be introduced properly. I have 3 (as pets) so please pm me if you have any questions :)
 
The rat should definitely have a same sex companion rat, but ifd she's a true hairless I wouldn't breed her, as hairless females very often have problems raising young and nursing them.
If the rat is a double rex and not a true hairless, then she could breed with no problems.

As for the mice and rats together, I agree with the others here, the rat will eventually kill the mice.
 
I found this out to my detriment when Solid, one of my two favourite 'pet' mice, escaped - she went over to the rats' cage and had a nosey.

Unfortunately, one of the females had littered not long before, and took offense to Solid being in their cage. She REALLY took offense to Solid killing one of her pups.

And when I came in on hearing the noise, I found Robin, the female rat, ripping Solid's head off. Robin wouldn't let me take the body away, either - she kept stamping on it and trying to take it apart.

Rats and mice are NOT a good combination unless they're raised together from pinks... and even then I wouldn't completely trust that the rat wouldn't have a go someday.
 
Next time I have a rat litter I'm going to try an experiment and put 1 or 2 mouse pinks in with the rat litter to be raised by the rats and see how they get along.

I know nursing rats will feed mouse pinks if they are about the same age as the rat pinks, but Ive never left them in for more than 3 or 4 days.
 
Flagg said:
Next time I have a rat litter I'm going to try an experiment and put 1 or 2 mouse pinks in with the rat litter to be raised by the rats and see how they get along.

I know nursing rats will feed mouse pinks if they are about the same age as the rat pinks, but Ive never left them in for more than 3 or 4 days.
Click to expand...
The mouse pinks will grow really fast on rat milk. Its amazing.
 
Flagg said:
The rat should definitely have a same sex companion rat, but ifd she's a true hairless I wouldn't breed her, as hairless females very often have problems raising young and nursing them.
If the rat is a double rex and not a true hairless, then she could breed with no problems.

As for the mice and rats together, I agree with the others here, the rat will eventually kill the mice.
Click to expand...

How do you tell the difference between a double rex and a true hairless? My friend has her breeding papers, and Im waiting for her to get them out of storage. I would guess shes a true hairless....
 
Double rexes tend to be a little fuzzy, but not always. It would help to know what the parents were, as they would both need to have been either rex (curly) or double rex.
 
If you plan on breeding her she may do fine, but I would plan on another standard coat female having a litter at the same time in case you need to foster the offspring.

I've heard differing info on hairless females and nursing young. Some say that they either can't produce milk or not enough, others say that they do produce milk but as soon as the babies grow claws the females often refuse to nurse as their bare skin gets painfully scratched too much by the babies' claws.

I've got a hairless male that I've been meaning to breed to a standard coat female to see if he is a rex or not, or else to get some het hairless to breed more hairless rats.

A hairless male with a het hairless female would be the optimal breeding pair, you should get half hairless and no troubles with the standard coat mother nursing.
 
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